The Great Rainbow Bake is a fun and inspiring challenge that is asking YOU to get creative in the kitchen this May to help raise money for an incredibly important cause.

A homemade cake is enough to put a smile on almost anyone’s face, and you don’t need to be a future Great British Bake Off star to put your baking skills to the test for the Rainbow Trust this May.

The children’s charity have launched a fantastic baking challenge called The Great Rainbow Bake and we’ve got all the information you need to take part.

What is The Great Rainbow Bake?

It is a fun challenge everyone can join which is taking place on 7 May. The Great Rainbow Bake challenge encourages people to bake their favourite treats and sell them to friends, family and colleagues to make money which can then be donated to the charity.

If you’ve got a competitive streak why not set up your own office bake-off or suggest a school bake sale? It’s all for a good cause!

Who are the Rainbow Trust?

Founded in 1986, the Rainbow Trust works tirelessly to offer emotional support as well as practical and professional guidance. When a child is diagnosed with a serious, life-limiting illness family life can be turned upside down, so the Rainbow Trust works to pair families with a dedicated expert Family Support Worker who will help them tackle each day and get the most out of it.

When Hadley was diagnosed with leukaemia, her mum was struggling to manage two small children and she felt very alone. Mandy, a Family Support Worker, was introduced to the family and has been supporting them through Hadley's treatment. Read her story: https://t.co/V86kbIyVe8pic.twitter.com/vWQN6Yxp9O

The Rainbow Trust support over 2,300 families in England but there are so many more families that need help.

Sharethrough (Mobile)

There is an estimated 49,000 children and young people who are living in the UK with life limiting or terminal health conditions. The Rainbow Trust not only help these children, but their families, siblings and friends who need support and guidance too.

The charity have a five-pronged approach when it comes to helping families. There are nine dedicated teams of Family Support Workers based around the country to help families across the UK. The Rainbow Trust focus on helping the siblings of sick children continue with life as normal as possible, ensuring they stay on track at school and get to enjoy down-time such as trips to the cinema.

Home and hospital support is offered to ensure the family cope with all the different appointments they have to juggle and how to process the information they receive at each step of the treatment journey.

Finally, the Rainbow Trust offer bereavement support for the entire family and are on-hand all day and night either by phone or face-to-face.

If you want to support this fantastic charity, take part in The Great Rainbow Bake challenge, and either sell your homemade and baked creations for cash or enjoy your cakes and bakes at home and then make a donation to the charity. Head to rainbowrust.org.uk/donate to donate, or you can also text GRBK18 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.

How can you get involved?

Join The Great Rainbow Bake of course! To join the baking challenge you can set up or contribute to a rainbow themed bake sale and then give any money you make to the charity. The official Great Rainbow Bake date is May 7 but you could host serval sales if you liked!

To donate what you’ve raised head to the Rainbow Trust website. You can also make a stand-alone donation to the charity without holding a bake sale by texting GRBK18 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.

Rainbow recipes

If you’re super excited to join the challenge and want some rainbow-themed inspiration we’ve got lots of colourful bakes you should try. Delicious enough to impress even the strictest of Great British Bake Off judges, we’re sure these bakes will go down a treat with your friends and family. You can share your creations on social media using the #GreatRainbowBake

Making this impressive looking rainbow cake is easier than you think. If you don’t have enough cake tins you can bake the individual sponges in batches and then layer them up. We’ve even coloured the buttercream and smoothed it over for a chic ombre design.

These bright little cupcakes take just 25 minutes to make and are sure to grab lots of attention. Topped with a generous helping of whipped cream, these cupcakes will stand out on the sales stand and are sure to be very popular.

Why not combine our rainbow cake with cupcakes and bake this GIANT rainbow cupcake! You could even cut out the centre and fill it with colourful sweets for an extra special surprise.

Rainbow-inspired cake decorations

Instead of baking a rainbow coloured sponge you could try making something simple and topping it with a rainbow design. This stained glass cake is a great example. Our basic cupcake recipe is the perfect place to start if you are a baking beginner, or this Mary Berry Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe would surely make the former GBBO judge proud if you wanted something with a fresh, spring feel.

Video of the Week

Lots of people are bound to bring rainbow cake to the sale so why not offer something a little different with these rainbow biscuits? They take less than 30 minutes to whip together and are the cheery treat everyone wants with a cuppa!

So, what are you waiting for? Ready, set, BAKE!

Don’t forget to donate any money you have raised from selling your bakes. To upload your donations or to simply make a donation to this fantastic charity, head to rainbowrust.org/donate. You can also text GRBK18 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.